Property team abseil down 200ft for TouchBase Pear Centre

A team of property experts abseiled down 200ft to help raise money and awareness for a blind-deaf community Centre due to open in spring 2017.

Natasha Batik, Jamie Richards and Lyndsey Cannon- Leach

Twenty-eight volunteers from different organisations were warned ‘don’t look down’ after pledging to raise money for charity by abseiling down a 16-storey office block, with the help of just a rope. All cost of the abseil equipment were covered by Morrison Edwards Insurance Solutions with a donation of £750.

The event took place on 29th September and was organised by Pennycuick Collins, which has its offices 54 Hagley Road and had its own employees scaling down the building.

Carl Williams, a community fundraiser at Sense, said: “The money raised will enable us to continue our vital support for children and adults that are deafblind, and those with complex needs. This is a number of events their (Pennycuick Collins) organising for us and I’ve come along today to say thank you and cheer on the volunteers,”

Kerrie Smith, Property Administrator at the organisation, said: “Our Partner Charles Gillett is a trustee of the grant giving charity The Edward Cadbury Charitable Trust (ECCT).”

Charles Gillett was approached by the charity’s chairman John Crabtree for support on the Touchbase project and after the company learnt more they felt it was an appropriate charity for Pennycuick Collins to support.

With £2.5million already raised Sense is half way through their £5million goal of public fundraising.

Amongst the volunteer many supporters of the different companies had gone to support their colleagues.

Watcher Rahima Hussain, SME Broker Manager at Extra Energy, supporting two of her colleagues, said: “It brings in a good moral, different companies and departments come together and do a fun course, rather than just giving money it’s a fun way to raise money, it brings out team work skills, two of our guys are doing it and it’s got them supporting each other. It gives people awareness of what’s out there, of people who are going though challenges of being deafblind and it’s getting people from other communities involved.”

The volunteers were taken in small groups up the elevator before making their decent down the sixteen storey building.

Jamie Richards, volunteer, before facing the challenge, said: “I wanted to do something for charity, I only started working here, it’s something I wanted to experience, I’ve abseiled before, but only down 20-30ft, I’ve never don’t anything as big as this, someone asked do you want to have ago and I said yes. I’m slightly nervous about doing it, but seeing how many people have come down, I’m sure I’ll be fine. I looked Sense up on line, I thought it was an informative charity and I wanted to help them out.”

After the climb down 21-year-old volunteer added “I feel exhilarated, I’m glad I’ve done it, it was a really good experience. Going over the top wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be, but about half way the wind picked up and I started getting blown about from one side to other, I didn’t like that but I would do something this again, now that I’ve done it one and it was ok, I would be interested in doing more stuff like this.”

“I felt petrified going over the edge,” said Lyndsey Cannon- Leach, 35, Partner – Residential Service Charge Management at Pennycuick Collins “Because I’ve never been in that situation before, but on the twelfth floor I could see the Pennycuick colleagues in one of the partners office, which got me motivated to keep going.”

Natasha Batik, aged 30, Property Manager at Pennycuick Collins, said: “I like doing stuff for charity, it’s brilliant to do something which gives back to the community, especially to vulnerable people who might need our help. Everyone walking past today have seen it, they are aware of sense which was the main awareness today, which was one of our main aims.”

The abseil adds £1500 to the total, but Sense have other upcoming projects to raise money including an art exhibition due to take place in October.

For more information on Sense and how to donate Click here.